What is health equity and why does it matter?

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently described the pandemic as highlighting some of the U.S.'s biggest failings, especially the health disparities among minority groups. To address inequality in health, Hennepin County Health@Work encourages everyone to develop a health equity perspective.

Wondering what health equity is? The World Health Organization says health equity happens when we eliminate avoidable and unfair differences among groups of people. Simply put, health equity is when everyone has a fair opportunity to be healthy.

Why not call it health equality? Equity goes beyond equality. As Target’s Diversity and Inclusion Director Shamayne Braman said at Health@Work’s first event on this topic, equality is when everyone gets the same thing from a wellness program and equity is when everyone gets the same outcome. Braman captured this difference by saying equality is when everyone gets a pair of shoes and equity is when everyone gets a pair of shoes that fits.

At Health@Work’s second health equity event, two local leaders translated Braman’s equity recommendations into concrete actions. Below are the key points shared by James Burroughs, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at Children's Hospital Minnesota, and Nancy Lyons, CEO at Clockwork and author of Work Like a Boss. 

Ideas for action:

• Do something even if leadership support is lacking. Find something you can do, no matter how imperfectly. This is a messy space and it is only through failure that we get better. Commit to doing something and to measuring progress.
• Acknowledge that wellness looks different for everyone. As Lyons succinctly described, wellness has traditionally been an “affluent, white, able-bodied and thin space” where not everyone feels comfortable. Challenge your assumptions about what “wellness” looks like. Offer flexibility so people can make wellness fit their own model of physical and mental health.
• Question the assumptions baked into wellness offerings and discounts. Have you explored program benefits through a Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) lens? Who might feel ignored by your current markers of wellness? Who is not included? Pick one thing and do it in a more equitable way.
• Avoid “people of color solutions.” Whenever possible, avoid lumping groups of people together who may have very different needs. Instead, break data down into smaller subpopulations.
• Start seeing trauma. When traumatic things happen, talk about it so those who are deeply affected don’t have to take on the burden of bringing it up.  
• Engage in and champion uncomfortable conversations. As Burroughs said, “Don’t do health equity work if you’re not willing to do racial trauma work. Don’t do health equity work if you’re not willing to do systemic racism work. Don’t do health equity work if you’re not willing to address how sexism, ageism, weightism, ableism impact health equity, because those are the conversations you need to have to dismantle systems that lead to health inequalities.” 
• Lead by example and make it okay to disagree. Walk the talk. Authentic conversations need room for disagreement and conflict.
• Watch the full conversation between Lyons and Burroughs. In the 33 minute video below, Lyons and Burroughs model showing up powerfully to advance this work. Make sure to follow each of them on social media as well.